We’ve long known that processed sugar is bad for kids. And yet new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data presented this week (June 10) at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting show that American infants are consuming excessive amounts of added sugar in their diets, much more than the amounts currently recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) and other medical organizations. The study found that toddlers 12 to 18 months consumed 5.5 teaspoons per day, and that toddlers 19 to 23 months consumed 7.1 teaspoons. This is close to, or more than, the amount of sugar recommended by AHA for adult women (six teaspoons) and men (nine teaspoons).
Names for Sugar
Sugar comes in different forms and a variety of names. All of the following sweeteners provide you with calories and all have little or no nutritional value (known as ‘empty calories’).
- Sugar
- Dextrose
- Maltose
- Glucose
- Fructose, High Fructose Corn syrup
- Corn sweetener
- Honey
- Agave
- Sucrose
- Sorghum syrup
- Sorbitol
- Brown sugar
- Lactose
- Molasses
- Syrup
- Fruit juice concentrate
Learn more about it: https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/nhp/documents/sugar.pdf
